1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coloring composition and methods of its use, and, more specifically, to a non-covalent derivatization coloring composition containing L-DOPA and arginine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Materials have been dyed and colored for thousands of years. While natural substances have historically been used to color most materials, these substances are often unable to permanently dye many types of materials. There is, therefore, a large demand for synthetic dye formulations that permanently color a material, including natural and artificial fibers, among many other beneficial uses. One of the largest markets for permanent dye formulations is the hair coloring market.
Most permanent hair color products contain a developer and an alkalizing agent. The developer is usually an oxidizing agent such as hydrogen peroxide in a water or a cream lotion, and the alkalizing agent is most often ammonia or an ammonia substitute. These chemicals cause the hair to swell and thus allow the pigment to penetrate the hair cuticle deep enough to reach and replace the natural melanin.
Several studies have suggested that the chemicals found in synthetic hair dyes, including ammonia, lead, and/or coal tar, are toxic and can have dangerous side-effects such as hair loss, burning, redness, itchy skin, swelling, or trouble breathing. As a result, many people decide to forego hair dyes to avoid exposure to the chemicals found in the coloring compositions. Although there are some natural formulations that employ compounds found in nature, they tend to be inconsistent and most often temporary.
As a result, there is a continued need for coloring compositions that use natural compounds rather than synthetic chemicals to permanently color material such as hair. Additionally, there is a continued demand for efficient and environmentally-friendly formulations and methods for coloring materials either permanently or semi-permanently.
One possible component of natural coloring compositions are natural and/or organic molecules that form non-covalent interactions with color polymers. While traditional methods of synthesis use synthetic chemicals such as solvents to form chemical products, non-covalent derivitization (“NCD”) uses the natural non-covalent intermolecular interactions between a directing material and a target compound to modify the properties of the target compound. When the directing material and the target compound interact, the resulting derivative possesses properties that can be significantly different from either the target compound or the directing material alone. Often, the properties of the derivative can be modified by altering the ratio of target compound to directing material, and/or changing the directing material. Another benefit of the NCD method is that the directing material and the target compound are typically both incorporated into the product, thereby eliminating at least some waste during production.
Thus, there is a continued need for organic coloring compositions that permanently or semi-permanently color compounds. Additionally, there is a continued need for a wide variety of coloring compositions to satisfy many different coloring needs.